Your smallest nugget with a detector

[TREETOPPER]

Your smallest nugget with a detector

What is the smallest nugget you have found with your favorite detector?

 

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[Jim McCulloch]

About 1/10th grain...

.. found with a GMT. Actually I have found several hundred sub-grainers with my GMT. You can't really call trhem "nuggets," though, merely "bits" or if they are flat, "flakes." HH jim

 

[AZNuggethunter]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Same here Jim,
Hundreds of sub grainers over the years. I have a 1oz vial full of the really really small ones. last count there were over 500 in the vial and it still did not make an ounce of gold.
The latest batch I have been finding with my Xterra-70 and the DD coil.

 

[TREETOPPER]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Hey AZ Nuggethunter,
How do you like that X70 with the 18kHz DD coil? I have heard that Minelab may come out with a small DD coil in a 7.5kHz.

 

[AZNuggethunter]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Where did you hear that about the coil?
I really like the X-70 for what it is. It is not a replacement for my 3500 or my 2100 but it is a nugget slaying detector. I was field testing it and started using it to test a few areas before strapping on the GP while I was traveling a lot in gold country where I did not have a lot of time to hunt. It worked great and I found gold from Oregon all the way back home here to Arizona.

The 18.75kHz DD coil is heads up a far better coil for nugget hunting than the 7.5kHz C that comes stock on the machine. But I am sure you had already guessed that one by now. I like the detector and it does exactly what it was designed to do. I will not be surprised if it is the number one selling serious detector by this time next year.

I put the machine in the pattern II of the coin hunting mode before I go to the prospecting mode so I can easily toggle back and forth to check questionable targets as rare as they are and I use the Iron Mask set at the factory preset of 5 along with using auto balance and tracking over manual balance. It is light enough that I can swing it for hours but have to watch myself at times because of that as well I am so used to the heavier machines that I sometimes catch myself swinging it a little faster just because of muscle memory.

Yes I know I am biased but hey it works!

Picture is of just some of the gold I have found with the Xterra-70

 

[Nitro 54]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

I detected a sub grainer a couple of weeks ago with my GMT using the 14 inch double d coil. I put this big coil on in hopes it wouldn't be as sensitive as the smaller coils. I was wrong. I get tired of chasing specks of fly poop size of gold that I have to pan out to find the signal.

 

[Rob66]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Hi guys my name is RD new to nugget hunting, but very intrested.Anyone has warnigs or trouble with claims membership? And is this a way to go about trying to fine nuggets? I really don't know where to start.

Just don't want my MD taken from me.

Happy 4th
RD

 

[TREETOPPER]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Where did you hear that about the coil?
I really like the X-70 for what it is. It is not a replacement for my 3500 or my 2100 but it is a nugget slaying detector. I was field testing it and started using it to test a few areas before strapping on the GP while I was traveling a lot in gold country where I did not have a lot of time to hunt. It worked great and I found gold from Oregon all the way back home here to Arizona.

The 18.75kHz DD coil is heads up a far better coil for nugget hunting than the 7.5kHz C that comes stock on the machine. But I am sure you had already guessed that one by now. I like the detector and it does exactly what it was designed to do. I will not be surprised if it is the number one selling serious detector by this time next year.

I put the machine in the pattern II of the coin hunting mode before I go to the prospecting mode so I can easily toggle back and forth to check questionable targets as rare as they are and I use the Iron Mask set at the factory preset of 5 along with using auto balance and tracking over manual balance. It is light enough that I can swing it for hours but have to watch myself at times because of that as well I am so used to the heavier machines that I sometimes catch myself swinging it a little faster just because of muscle memory.

Yes I know I am biased but hey it works!

Picture is of just some of the gold I have found with the Terra-70

Hey AZ nuggethunter,

I heard that Minelab is putting out two more coils for the X70 but, I'm not sure if they will be compatible with the X50 or not.One of them maybey a 10.5DD round in 7.5kHz the same one made for the UK. it's on the" Find's treasure forum" under XT70 forum.
By the way that was an excellent review on the X70 the best i have heard so far on prospecting. Thanks.

 

[AZNuggethunter]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Just razzing you about the coils, there is a lot of talk about additional coils for the X-70 but it is a wait and see next thing as far as I am concerned. Over the years there have been a lot of coils developed for a lot of machine that never make it out of Beta testing.
As a strictly gold coil I would like to see a 6”elip DD H coil just for those little specks on and in small bedrock cracks and the really tight spots in some of the areas I hunt. I might even like to see that in a higher kHz as well, somewhere around the 30-40 kHz range but a higher freq response may not be necessary because of the way the Xterra process signals to began with. I am finding signals that are extremely small with the 18.75 kHz coil that are hard to find with one of my other test machines that is more than double that.
It was a smart thing to develop V-Flex.

Kevin

 

[AZNuggethunter]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Hi guys my name is RD new to nugget hunting, but very intrested.Anyone has warnigs or trouble with claims membership? And is this a way to go about trying to fine nuggets? I really don't know where to start.

Just don't want my MD taken from me.

Happy 4th
RD

I know this is getting off topic for this thread and I guess we can take to another post if needed.
RD do you mean Club Claims? You wrote claims membership so I am guessing you are talking about club claims. If you are, what state do you live in?

Most clubs have a guideline set forth in their membership package as to what is and not allowed on the claims. One of the clubs I belong to have all of the permitting and Plans of operation for their members to use up to a 3” dredge on their water claims. You as a member must only follow the rules of the club and the rules of the governing body as to the time that you can and can not use equipment.
As far as detecting goes all of the organizations I belong to have no limits on detecting. Just the common sense rules like fill in your holes and don’t do dumb things. But you have to do your research on any claim. Making sure that there is detectable gold on the claim is the most important thing. A guy I met while I was dry washing was complaining about a club claim in that he had never found a nugget there. Looking at the claim description closely it said that no nuggets had ever been found on the claim but there is lots of extremely fine gold that is dry washable was everywhere.

Just be careful and keep your eyes open for markers and so on. If you are not sure of an area where you want to detect do not detect it until you have done your research to see if the area is under claim and so on. Learn to use the BLM LRR 2000 as well.
And for gold’s sake get a good GPS.

 

[Jim McCulloch]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Kevin, you are quite right; when it comes to nugget hunting, it certainly is "location, location, location." As I mention in my book "If there are NO nuggets there, you AREN'T going to find any." As Minelab's Dealer Developer, if you come to Joshua Tree to see my pal Philip Bonafide, our local Minelab dealer, let me know, perhaps we can connect to "talk gold." Best wishes and HH jim

 

[AZNuggethunter]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Jim,
How the heck are you? I did not even read the last name on your post, long time.
As soon as I am done with this next Midwest adventure, leaving Sunday for a trip through Nebraska Kamas Oklahoma Texas (no detectable gold) Colorado New Mexico (good detectable gold) I am heading out to sit on our buddies porch to listen to his birds and talk Minelab. I had hoped to make it there this month but with his upcoming things I think it will be better to wait until August. I will make sure Philip or I get in touch with you when I know my schedule.

RD,
Ok here is a blatant product plug for you. Buy ADAVANCED NUGGETSHOOTING by James McCulloch.
DO not let the name of the book scare you. It is for the first timer as much as it is for the advanced hunter. This book has helped a lot of newcomers to prospecting in identifying areas, proper techniques and recovery. A very good book to have and it is not expensive. I think it is still around $8.00. Correct me if I am wrong Jim about the price.
But it would still be cheap at twice the price for what you will get out of it.

 

[Jim McCulloch]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Kevin, yep, it's me, Jim McCulloch. Thanks for the kind words re: "Advanced Nuggetshooting," it is still selling extremely well. Yes, I still sell autographed copies for $8.00 postpaid. Coming to the Mojave in August? Perhaps Phil, you, and I can hit the higher Alpine areas to the west, rather than frying our brains in the desert goldfields. Another problem we are having in the local desert goldfields are bees. Last years wet weather, combined with a mild spring, has put bee populations at the highest we have ever seen them. They will swarm you, seeking water. We are in the habit of placing wet blankets well away from where we want to detect, so that the bees will swarm the blankets, rather then us. HH jim

 

[TREETOPPER]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Hey guys, all this talk about detecting in Mojave has got me fired up.I lived in Lancaster,Ca for about 20yrs and had only gold panned West of Mojave. I found a few productive areas one year and the next year their was claims everywhere.People were using 8'' dredging machines in this little creek in the Kern area tearing the place up it made me sick.The area is used some in the spring by a few people panning but after that it dries up pretty quick.I live here in Texas now and about the only place i can see that holds any specks of gold is the Llano River area.I do alot of coin detecting down here and thought i would give the Llano area a try for those tiny gold specks so thats why i like the X70.
I will be back in that area of CA this year but with the atv and the X70 strapped on it.Their are still some areas that have been untouched up their for quite awile and just waiting for me and my new detector.

 

[AZNuggethunter]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Jim,
Hunting up the hill sounds very good to me, after the trip to Texas last month and Oklahoma I am more inclined to stay in temps under 100 and humidity way under the century mark as well. Or, I could just wait until it is a bit cooler.
I like the idea of the wet blankets for the Bees. I started carrying a half gallon of liquid hummingbird food and a rag for those areas that are bee infested that I just had to hunt that day. Great idea but a little, no, a lot messy when it is time to go.

RD,
Are you in North Texas by chance? If you are then go take a look at the Oklahoma Gold Prospectors Yahoo group. While I was there in June the gang had an outing on the Kiamichi River in southern Okla. and found a bit of gold. It was a lot of fun with a bunch of great folks. I think it might be better than the Llano in the long run. There is known gold in the area that we were dredging from a long time back.

 

[TreasureGrabber]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Hey Guys,
Can you post more photos?
Is here anybody who has Minelab GP or SD ? If yes, what is the smallest and deepest nugget you have found?

 

[TREETOPPER]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Hey AZ nuggethunter,
your absolutely right about the heat and the humidity here in Texas.We already had a couple of 104 degree days in mid May with 90%humidity.I live here in NW.Austin, a far cry from my home town Tehachapi,CA,where it snowed in may of 2001, just before i moved here .Right now it is to hot here to go out and MD during the day i usually hunt at night during this time.
I defiently will make my way back to the sierras in the fall for some MD Ive got to try out this new X70 up their. I have a 3.5 grain test nugget that i bury at diffrent depths and very pleased at how sensitive the X70 is.
I would like to have a DD coil in a higher kHz then the one they already make for finding the smaller gold.

 

[AZNuggethunter]

Re: Your smallest nugget with a detector

Man I have no idea how you do that heat :P. In all fairness I did live in the Dallas area years ago and worked out in the heat almost everyday guess it is just age or something talking now. I felt like I had to take a shower to get dry on this last trip. Ok this might be really off topic but then again it has to do with being able to find the really small stuff.

I am really glad that you are enjoying the X-70! The development of any new technology always has that pucker factor to some extent for me. With the V-Flex being a truly new technology I had concerns. As they say “The proof they say is in the finds” and man o man are the finds adding up.
The ground you are working there is not really what I would consider hot soil so make sure you have the DD coil on the unit before you get back to gold country. The stock coil just like any mono has advantages and disadvantages; the only real disadvantage of the stock concentric coil is that it will not handle mineralization as well as the DD coil. But saying that is preaching to the choir it has always been like that with any Mono coil. So that should be no surprise.

TIPS

Toggle-ing through the menu,

Sensitivity: set it to 25 to start if the machine is to hot it will tell you as you swing. You will get a little to much ground noise as you swing. If you do get to much then just toggle it back until it settles down. Re ground balance and keep hunting.

Volume: All the way up. Get a set of volume control headphone if you need to adjust the volume.

Threshold: This is probably the most common mistake people make nugget hunting. Set the threshold to where you just have a slight broken sound like a mosquito passing by your ear. In the prospecting mode you do not need a solid or do you want a really solid threshold. Hold the machine just off the ground 4-6 inches. Use the + key to get a solid threshold and then the- key to back it off to where it just begins to break up. You are going to have to learn to listen to everything small that breaks the threshold. I have always shared with people that the largest deepest nuggets and some of the smallest crumbs I have ever found with any brand of detector were nothing more than a whisper in the threshold and the same hold true for the X terra’s. The reason I said hold the coil just off the ground is for the simple fact that I have never found a nugget floating in the air so I want to set the machine up where I am going to use it which is, the coil facing and close to the ground.

Noise cancel: Always do this in the Auto mode. I have found that unless you are working right under the flight line of an airfield or a power line most people are not good enough to hear the slight changes in the noise cancel in the prospecting mode to really get it just right. Do it just as the manual says

Ground Balance: This one is easy do it just like the manual says. I use the manual GB to really fine tune the Xterra. But it is not really necessary. Just remember to put the Xterra in the all metal mode before you balance and remember to take it out after you are finished. You will know if you forgot because you will not see the 5 on the screen just 2 dashes.

Tracking: Before you start to hunt just turn it on, leave it on.

Tone:
When Minelab put the very first tone adjustable pot on a machine way back when they created what I think was the very best and most important tool for the detectorist.
Not a single person on this earth hears everything the same. Hearing is almost like a fingerprint in that each of us is different. When prospecting with any detector and after setting the threshold exactly where it needs to be set and so on, you now have to be able to hear those faintest of sounds.
In the prospecting mode of the Xterra-70 adjusting the tone is not what it is in the coin and relic modes where you have 1,2,3,4 or 99 different target signal tones. In the prospecting mode setting the tone is setting the actual tone that you hear in your headphones.
By fine tuning the tone you will be able to hear targets that you might not hear on a set tone detector. I know this might sound silly but if you will set the tone just like I am going to share with you, you might thank me someday when we run across each other out there in a nugget patch.
With your headphones on and toggled to tone close your eyes (I want you to take one of your sensors out) and press the + or – key until the detector sounds like it is getting louder. Go just a bit past that point to make sure and then key it back to where it sounds the loudest. You have adjusted a tone setting not a volume setting so when the detector sound the loudest you have actually optimized it to your hearing. This should be done every time you go out and a couple of times during the day as you hunt as your hearing will change throughout the day.

I hope this helps some when you get back to cool gold country.